


It Takes A Thorn To Remove A Thorn

by KingEggie



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), Gen, Heavy topics, Hurt/Comfort, If people like this then it will be an adoption AU ok, Implied/Referenced Suicide, NO MAXVID SHIPPERS ALLOWED, Neglect, dadvid, david is a valid crybaby, let max cry pls, lots and lots of crying, lots of swearing courtesy of Max, mentions of drug abuse but its not descriptive, sorta ooc david, you bet your ass that david will be singing songs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24072829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingEggie/pseuds/KingEggie
Summary: “You know, the more camp goes on the more you start to remind me of myself.”Max’s head whiplashes towards me again.“This is NOT what I wanted nor needed to hear.”David becoming a Dadvid.(Will continue and change summary/tags if people want me to continue this)
Relationships: David & Max (Camp Camp)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

David isn’t one for some of the camp’s activities. Don’t get him wrong, he likes the traditional camp activities like archery, storytelling, storytelling in song, and of course hiking. The problem is that it’s Max’s turn on choosing the camp activities today and well…

“Fuck you Harrison, you’re not allowed to use your bullshit magic it’s fucking cheating and you know it!”

Everyone of Camp Campbell was gathered in the mess hall trying to follow Quarter Master’s directions on lock picking. Luckily, Quarter Master had a whole box of different types of locks for everyone to use. Gwen took the liberty of disinfecting the box before public consumption of the products. 

“Max, I picked the lock before you and you’re just bitter about it. This activity is practically useless to me.”

A few campers look towards Max and Harrison’s exchange, Nurf being one to bring out the popcorn first. 

“I hope you enjoy today, I really do. Cause SOMEONE ISN’T FUCKING WAKING UP TOMORROW!”

Yeah, David does not like certain activities. Surprisingly Quarter Master cuts between Harrison and Max.

“Ah, a Toldedo TBK14 padlock. Not a bad lock but easy enough to pick.”

Quarter Master grabs the lock that Max was holding, only making Max angrier of course, yet he is still listening closely to what Quarter Master has to say.

“Use top of the key way tension with something thin, and with a hook pointing upward towards the top. You know you’re doing good if you hear clicking.”

Quarter Master completely unlocks it in under 15 seconds. Max’s sour face is still on, but he re-locks the padlock and follows Quarter Master’s instruction. Max does hear a few clicks, and about two minutes later he successfully got the padlock to open.

“HA. In your fucking face Harrison.”

Harrison rolls his eyes and has already moved on to his own magician tricks. 

“Max, I am both proud and scared of this momentous event!”

“Can it David.”

–

After about an hour of lock picking everyone either got bored or I had to put them in timeout due to their misuse of their newfound abilities. Everyone got a few hours of break time to work in their own stations, because Max was struggling to come up with another camp activity.

“We can do hiking!”

“Fuck no.”

“Canoeing?”

“Suck my dick.”

“Star gazing?”

“Do I look like Space Kid to you?”

Everything that I was coming up with Max didn’t like. This task would have been much easier if Max’s guardians did pick a specific camp for him to participate in, but I would imagine Max wouldn’t have liked anything we had listed anyways. We were cleaning up the various tools and locks in the mess hall together while I was pitching my ideas, but Max shot down all of them.

“Well Max, what do you like to do in your free time away from Camp?”

Max was sitting on the edge of one of the tables trying to pick away at a bike lock. He must have gotten distracted from the cleaning. 

“Nothing really.”

I can tell I hit a sore spot, since Max’s once slightly annoyed face became aggressively disgruntled. 

“I mean, what do you do for fun back at home? What do you do with friends or at school?

Max turns to me in a bought of rage.

“I fucking told you I do jack shit. I don’t have fun or hobbies or friends.”

...No friends? Max’s face turns fearful. Max knew he fucked up and he tried to recover what he said.

“I-I mean I fucking hate everyone and school gives me so much homework up the ass I don’t have time to fuck around.”

“Max, you and I both know you’re not the type to do homework.”

Max goes red in what I believe is embarrassment since I called him out on his fib. 

“Oh? All because I’m the hell raiser devil child I can’t have nice grades? Thanks for fucking believing in me David you’re really a mood lifter.”

I would normally start apologizing profusely, but considering this is Max and I know his track record… Well, already I know I’m in the right here. I put down the box of supplies and take a few strides to where Max is sitting. Max folds his arms and turns the opposite direction of me while I sit down. 

“You know, the more camp goes on the more you start to remind me of myself.”

Max’s head whiplashes towards me again.

“This is NOT what I wanted nor needed to hear.”

“I know, but let me explain at least? It’s a PG-13 kind of conversation though so I understand if you don’t want to partake in it.”

Max’s eyebrows raise and relax. He fully turns his body to me and proceeds to uncross his arms and stuff them in his pockets instead.

“Fine, you have the floor.”

I also adjust my position a bit. I lean back against the table and prop an elbow on it to support my chin. 

“Well, you remember my story about how I came to fall in love with camp?”

“Sadly yes, but continue.”

“Well, I may have fibbed a few things in that story.”

Max snorts and chuckles.

“No fucking shit you did. The plot was understandable but some of the shit details you gave were obviously a cover up or made up.”

“Yep no fooling you Max!”

I decided to turn my line of vision straight down at my shoes, cause looking at Max was harder than I thought for this conversation.

“You see, back when I was your age I didn’t have a good support system. My mom died before I could walk and my dad committed suicide when I was eight.”

I pause for a second to see if Max had anything to say, but silence pushed me to continue.

“From that point on I moved halfway across the country to live with my aunt on my mom’s side. We… didn’t exactly see eye to eye on things but we made things work. She was never around due to work so I learned how to cook, clean, and defend for myself. School was terrible since I was the new kid and my voice was so squeaky I was called chew toy. No one really wants to be friends with someone nicknamed chew toy, so to sum it up I had no parents, no one liked me, and I was forced to be an adult at such a young age. In my Camp Campbell story, I lied about how I really acted. I… really acted like you Max.”

I raise and turn my head to Max, and it’s full of pure shock. He’s so shocked in fact that his mouth was hanging wide open. I tap my chin so he gets the hint, but he doesn’t fully close it.

“What do you mean you acted like me? Like… David swearing, pulling pranks, being an overall piece of shit was normal!?”

I had to giggle a bit at that.

“Haha well… yes. I wasn’t a huge prank puller but I did do a lot of stealing.”

To prove my point, I grab the lock Max was just working on along with a paperclip out of my back pocket and get to work. Within ten seconds I get the simple bike lock picked and unlocked. Oh gosh am I rusty… but Max is still visibly impressed.

“What the fuck!? You did that faster than Quarter Master and that guy has done some shady shit.”

Huh, I guess I did do it faster than our beloved yet questionable groundskeeper. 

“Not to speak ill of Quarter Master, but I think he has expertise in some other illegal activities. Thieving though? I used to have that mastered down to the last detail.”

Max snickers at my remark. I set the lock back on the table and tuck the paperclip back into its pocket. 

“Anyways, after receiving my very first badge I realized I could do more and it sparked motivation in me. But then… this is another lie I told you.”

I wipe away the incoming tears before I shatter Max’s perception of me.

“I… know what happened to Jasper.”

“whAT!?”

Nodding my head I feel the tears roll down my face.

“Yeah, I lied. When you, Nikki, and Neil came to my door about Jasper I didn’t have the heart to say what happened. I’m sure you all already know the story since you figured out his name and what was bothering me at the time.”

Max looks like he had something to say, but he decided on a simple head nod. 

“Well, that was traumatic for me as well. The one friend I was able to make died and I felt like it was my fault. It was like, one step forward and two steps back, you know?”

I feel a tug on my shirt and I turn to see Max offering a tissue. I take it and try my best to wipe away the oncoming shower.

“Thanks… and sorry for the water works. I know you’re used to it by now, but as you now know I didn’t have the room to express emotions as a child so now that I have the freedom to do so it can get out of hand.”

I take a pause to blow my nose, and I feel a little bit better knowing that everything is off my chest. Max has yet to speak, so I decide to close my speech. 

“Overall… I just… Want you to know that I’ve experienced things no kid should ever go through. I know the signs of neglect because I’ve been through it. Max, if you ever feel like you’re put in a bad place know that you can come to me anytime. I know I’m not your favorite person, but just know that you don’t have to go through anything alone.”

Silence ensues for a few seconds. I wipe away a few more tears before fulling looking at Max, and I find that he’s sniffling and holding back tears of his own.

“Fuck David… I really was not prepared for this…”

Max takes out another tissue from his hoodie pocket and wipes away his own tears in a frantic manner. I had to smile, seeing him get even a little bit emotional over my story means touched his heart in some way. 

“Don’t fucking smile like that it’s creepy. Don’t make me punch you in the throat.”

Max doesn’t have visible tears anymore, but his face is puffy and eyes are still a bit red.

“You know I won’t stop smiling Max… Now, help clean up and we can figure out an activity afterwards, okay?”

I stand up and stretch out my arms above my head. Max without a word starts picking up the bike lock.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Vague talk of drug use and abuse talk in this chapter. Song used in chapter is by K-MODO. I'll link it in the chapter!

Archery was the only solution.

Sharp shit to shoot, and a traditional camp activity to get David in a better mood. The dude really puts his heart on his sleeve, and when we were done talking he continued to be all sad and gloomy… So I guess I threw him a bone. 

“Allllrighty Gwen! Max has chosen archery and we have to get the supplies ready!”

We were just walking back from the mess hall, and instead of staying and watching Gwen bitch and moan I decided to head over to see what Neil and Nikki are doing. I pass Harrison and Nerris, which it looks like they made up or something considering they are both playing with Nerris’ dice. Granted, Harrison could just be trying to make their dice disappear.

I also pass Dolph and Ered. It looks like Dolph is teaching Ered how to paint, and they are both contributing to Ered’s skateboard… and I just realized that Space Kid is upside down and pinned to the canvas, which I think Ered and Dolph is using him as a reference. 

I reach Nikki and Neil where Neil was scribbling away nervously at a clipboard while Nikki was laying down on the table.

“Maaaaxxx you have to help me! Nikki drank one of my experiments and I think she can hear my thoughts!”

Nikki sits up with a mundane facial expression.

“Neil I told you, I’ve always been able to do that. I’ve also learned my lesson from last time… Now I’m a lady and I’m failing at it every day.”

I had to snicker a little bit at that. Nikki is for sure the farthest thing from ladylike.

“B-But that is against science! You can’t intercept other people’s inner thoughts it’s just not possible!”

Neil proceeds to break the clipboard, where I can see multiple equations he has hastily scribbled out. Seems like he needs a pep talk.

“Seriously Neil? You know how much fucked up shit we’ve seen over this Summer. We’ve seen shit that science will never explain. I think it’s best you just let this go and accept that the supernatural and science can coexist in this world.”

Neil’s eyes were twitching and his face was completely red.

“But science could explain all of those we just have to find the answers! I swear one day I’ll figure out a solution to everything we’ve experienced here, I mean there HAS to be an explanation!”

“Neil, you are a child right now. You have plenty of years to nerd-gasm about the phenomenon that is Camp Campbell. Enjoy your child years now before you get acne and have to worry about who your date is for homecoming.”

Maybe I broke Neil, maybe I didn’t, but he did close his mouth and proceeded to go into fetal position on the ground. Nikki jumps off the table and stands next to me.

“Wow Max, I’ve never seen someone go through so many of the stages of grief all at once.” 

“Stages of grief? Which one is he at right now?”

“I think it’s the depression stage… or was it called the Dominican stage…?”

Depression stage it is. I can see from the corner of my eye David and Gwen are telling the other campers to finish up what they’re doing. I give Neil a nudge with my foot.

“Let’s go Neil, we have other shit to do.”

I lower my hand towards his arms, and after a few seconds of him staring at my hand he decided to take it and lift himself off the ground.

“… I think for once you’re right Max. I should just enjoy how things are now and I’ll figure it out later. Maybe right now I can just experience and that will be the first step in my research.”

Huh, so my words finally went through someones thick skull, or in Neil’s case thick brain. I shoulder bump him and I lead Nikki and Neil over to where archery was setup.

–

I won’t go into details on how bad archery went, but to sum it up Preston might need stitches and Nerris is scary with a bow. Neil and I were horrible at it, and Nikki didn’t understand that you had to shoot it with the bow since she can just stab people with the arrow DESPITE her shooting an arrow at David during that sparrow bullshit campfire. Either way, Preston now has stab wounds. 

Also, David is perfect at shooting. When he gave us a demo he was able to shoot all of the targets and proceeded to scare the shit out of Gwen by shooting a tin can off of her head. It was actually kind of… awesome?

Anyways, we always have a campfire to end the night. It would be decent if s’mores were provided, but since god has forsaken this place s’mores are just a myth around here. Instead we all get to sit around trying to tell each other bad stories. Each night that goes by, the less creative we all get, so now that we have two weeks left of camp we sorta just talk and go on tangents. Currently, all of us are arguing over chili and if it’s normal to have noodles in them or not. Preston is giving his own monologue on the ordeal.

“Noodles is the FOUNDATION of the chili. I will NOT stand for these ammeter opinions blinding you all from the true art of noodles being the norm in chili.”

God, fucking Preston is wrong as always. Fuck noodles in chili. Though I will admit this conversation is worth putting my own opinion out in the open.

“Anyone who thinks noodles belong in chili shouldn’t talk to me anymore, just putting that out there.”

Neil puts out his fist, so I bump it accordingly. Nikki shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t care what’s in my food, as long as its edible I think anything is fine. Though I do think adding in something exciting would be better. Like octopus! We could dominate the octopuses…”

Ered chimes in.

“I think we are getting off track Nikki. I feel like adding in noodles would just make chili better.”

Okay, now I’m mad.

“You said ‘adding in’. That means it’s not traditional chili. The original debate was on whether or not noodles vs. no noodles was the traditional way. Opinion invalidated.”

Fuck Ered and her stupid ass opinion. Before anyone could give more shitty opinions Gwen throws water on the fire in front of us.

“Okay, I need to sleep now or else tomorrow is going to be a bad day for everyone. Tent time everyone.”

Some of us groan considering it’s not even that late out, but I always jump at the opportunity for people to leave me alone. We all start standing, stretching, and heading back to our tents. I watch as Gwen hauls ass with Preston in tow since she has to check his stab wounds before bed, while David sticks behind cleaning up the campsite. 

“You have something to say Max?”

Fuck I’ve been staring too long.

“No. Just that your fly is down.”

It’s not, but David gasps and drops everything he picked up to look down. Once he realizes that I lied, I’m already turned around and heading back to my tent.

“See ya doofus.”

I don’t look back, but after a few seconds David does respond.

“Goodnight Max!”

–

Mr. Honeynuts is tucked between my arms and chest as I make my 2:00AM walk around the lake. I physically can’t sleep too long, so after a walk around I get drowsy again and makes going back to sleep a bit easier. Usually I bring Mr. Honeynuts with me so I don’t feel threatened by the silence around camp, or you know… just in case some bullshit happens. I just reached the lake, but I hear a distant noise towards the piers. I could turn back now, but I would be staring at Neil’s snoring face for a few hours which I would like to avoid. So, I creep up to the pier with Mr. Honeynuts stuffed into my pocket, just to keep him a bit out of sight. 

As I get closer, I can start to hear strumming of a guitar, so obviously it’s David playing something. Knowing that it’s just David, I should probably walk somewhere else so he doesn’t yell at me and force me back into my tent. Turning my heel, I do a 180, but I stop in my tracks when I hear David speak.

“ _Max, you thought-_ ”

Wait, is he talking about me? Now I have to confront him. If he is talking shit about me he can do it to my face. So, I turn back to the pier and storm out into the open. 

David is sitting on top of the wooden post at the start of the dock by himself. He’s writing down on a clipboard while his guitar rests next to him on the ground. Who the fuck was he talking to?

“Hey if you have something to say, say it to my fucking face.”

David visibly jumps and loses his balance on the wooden post, falling sideways towards the dock. He lands on his ass, but recovers quickly once he realizes it’s me.

“Max! You should be in your tent it’s late!”

“I could say the same to you, but instead you’re talking shit.”

David pulls himself off the ground and is now standing ten feet away from me. 

“Language. Also, I wasn’t talking bad about you?” 

Fat. Fucking. Lie. He’s been sick of my bullshit since day one, so maybe he comes out and rants into the lake like a crazy person. Now, I’m mad.

“You were just talking about me! I heard my name just a moment ago, you can’t deny that I heard YOU not anyone else.”

David raises his right brow and squints his eyes at me. Is he seriously this dense!? But then, David’s face widens into a smile.

“Ah I know what you heard! This is actually really good timing. Come on over and take a seat next to me!”

David takes his guitar and clipboard and swings his legs over the pier near the shore while his hands pat the space next to him. I roll my eyes, but I do take a seat next to him and lean my back against the wooden post. 

“Okay, what is it camp man.”

“Well, whenever I can’t sleep I come out here and write songs. I actually just finished the one I’ve been working on for a while, and I was going to gift it to you the last night here… but I don’t mind giving it to you now.”

What… The fuck???

“Wha- What do you mean give me a song?”

“You know, I wrote a song with you in mind. You’ve impacted my life so I decided to express it in the only way I know how.”

He gestures towards the guitar in his lap.

“But… I’ve been nothing but shitty to you? Are you fucking crazy?”

I’m in disbelief that this idiot took the time out of his life to write about me. 

“I mean, after this summer I just might be crazy.”

David chuckles and positions his guitar better on his lap.

“So, do you wanna hear the song or would you rather vomit and go to bed?”

I pause and stare. On one hand, I could go back to my tent and stay awake wondering what the hell he thinks of me. On the other hand, I could listen to the song but not know what the fuck to feel afterwards… Fuck why am I such a curious little shit?

“Just play your song before I vomit.”

David’s face is shining with glee and anticipation, and doesn’t let time waste itself. [Listen to song here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJKGP2txz4w)

_ Camp Campbell this  
Camp Campbell that  
Max, you thought my efforts would fall flat,  
But I've kept my eye on you _

David focuses on the clipboard that’s between us, but I’m keeping my eyes on David’s face. 

_ I've watched you grow behind that scowl  
Like the whole world has let you down  
And I'm sure a part of it has _

I feel my face soften, remembering our conversation from earlier. David related to me in a way I never thought he would, and he noticed that detail within me. 

_ I promise you that I  
I will be different  
I promise you that I  
I will understand you  
We may not eye-to-eye  
And that's just fine  
But I want to see you learn to like your life _

I can feel the prickling sensation of fresh tears coming from the corners of my eyes.

_ So quick  
Let's make the most of the sunlight  
Live off script  
and know there's no rewrite  
No where comes to mind  
Where fun and natures so combined  
We've roughed and toughed through every adventure  
I'd say this summer is one for the records  
Name an activity  
Cause camp Campbell is the place for you and me _

Of course this idiot some how included his infamous catchphrase. I couldn’t help but smirk a bit. 

_ I know you scheme amazing things  
And though those things usually hurt me  
I see the talent in those plans  
I've seen you smile like seven times  
Each ones a win I won't take lightly  
And I can't wait till we hit ten _

I can feel the warmth in every word that comes out of his mouth, no malice behind the words or mockery… Why?

_ I promise you that I  
I will be better  
I promise you that I  
I will understand you  
I know we don't see eye to eye  
And that's just fine  
But I hope to see you learn to like your life _

_ So quick  
Let's make the most of the sunlight  
Live off script  
and know there's no rewrite  
No where comes to mind  
Where fun and natures so combined  
We've roughed and toughed through every adventure  
I'd say this summer is one for the records  
Name an activity  
'Cause camp Campbell is the place for you and me _

_ We've sung to so many campfires  
While smoke washes the stars  
Those nights are my favorite  
'cause we forget who we are  
There's been so many great memories  
Mischief and anomalies  
Looking back it's been crazy  
Who knows what tomorrow brings  
Since the last time that I checked  
I think we've made progress  
Deny it all you want  
But I can't wait to see  
What  
We  
Do  
Next _

There is a small pause, but he looks up from the clipboard and is now staring at me. Fuck. 

_ So quick  
Let's make the most of the sunlight  
Live off script  
and know there's no rewrite  
No where comes to mind  
Where fun and natures so combined _

_ So quick  
Let's make the most of the sunlight  
Live off script  
and know there's no rewrite  
No where comes to mind  
Where fun and natures so combined  
We've roughed and roughed through every adventure  
I'd say this summer is one for the records  
Name an activity  
Cause camp Campbell is the place for you and me _

With that, the song ends and it leaves David and I staring at each other. I feel like I’m going to combust; and I do combust. Tears are threatening to come out, but I was able to choke out a few words.

“W-Why? I-I d-don’t understand?”

David lays down the guitar and moves the clipboard away with it.

“I care about you, that’s why.”

I couldn’t help but to erupt in tears. No one has ever put in this kind of effort just to tell me they give a shit. Actually, no one has given any effort to show me an ounce of compassion like David has. 

“I-I… FUCK just…”

My throat is practically closed shut. I can’t speak but I hear myself heave air. I can barely see David, but I do see his arms spread out so I take the offer and bury myself into the hug. Is this what a parent is supposed to do? Is this what a healthy relationship feels like? So many questions like this come to mind as David holds me and speaks.

“Just let it all out, I promise everything will be okay.”

I don’t understand, I really don’t understand… but in this moment I don’t have to. 

I can’t tell how much time has passed, but I end up calming down quite a bit and I start wiping away some tears with my arm as I separate from David’s body. I sense David move a bit, and suddenly I feel a tissue against my face wiping away the waterworks.

“Just so you know, you don’t have to say anything or feel like you owe me something. I’m here to help you in any way that I can. So if you don’t feel comfortable and want to go back to your tent you can, or you can stay and talk things out with me. Whatever you want to do, I’m here for you.”

I take the tissue out of David’s hands and proceed to blow my nose. I think about what he said as I try to breathe steadier… and I think if I’m going to cry, might as well get everything out at once.

“… Y-You already know I don’t have a good h-home life.”

David pulls out a small packet of travel tissues out of his cargo pants pocket and gestures them towards me, which I take and set on my lap. He doesn’t interject, so I continue.

“My parents don’t care. L-Like, one time when I was seven my mom left me on the side of a road and told me to wait there while she ran errands. I waited for hours and almost died because it was cold as shit outside. Turns out she was shooting up and overdosed in some strangers apartment. I ended up in the hospital trying to recover from mild hypothermia, which one of her junkie friends stole me from the hospital a day later even though I still needed to recover.”

I take a moment to breathe a bit, calculating on what to say next.

“… Dad doesn’t live with mom and I, but when he does appear after months of being a ghost he is a bipolar mess. Constantly trying to win me and mom over but then something switches and he leaves us again, which only makes mom fall deeper into her addiction and hatred towards me. I just wish this wasn’t my life…”

I take out Mr. Honeynuts from my hoodie pocket and hide my face into him. All the cards are out on the table… 

“Max, thank you for sharing. It’s hard experiencing those things, but I’m proud of you regardless of your past.”

I squeeze Mr. Honeynuts harder, letting David continue with his train of thought.

“Also, if you let me help, you don’t have to go back to that environment.”

My head whiplashes towards David.

“Like the system is any better!? At least I know my parents. I would rather tough it out with those fuckwads and move out than get placed with some random weirdos!”

“Actually, I’m a certified foster parent. Ered’s dads still owe me a favor after the Mr. Campbell incident, so I was thinking I can use that favor to get you out of your situation and placed with me… but that’s only if you want that.”

How…? How is David even suggesting this? I’m the biggest piece of shit he has ever interacted with and now he’s saying he wants to adopt me!?

“Why the fuck would you do that? Why would you even consider taking me in, let alone adopting me!?”

David squeezes the one arm he still has around me into his chest again.

“I’m doing it because I care about you. Just so you know, fostering isn’t the same as adopting. It’s kinda like a temporary guardianship. I could adopt you, or you can move on to the next big thing. My biggest thing is getting you out of your abusive household ASAP, but the second biggest thing is making sure you are happy. If you can’t be happy with me, I can find people that will. Just say the word and I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”

Only two things are on my mind. One, David is accepting me not only into his arms but into his _life_. I have no idea what this guy does outside of camp, let alone where he lives. I’ve known him for only a few months but he’s so willing to just… let me inside and be apart of everything. Secondly, what would my mom think? I’ve been her only crutch and I’ve been the one to push her in the right direction. Without me, I know she will crash and burn. 

“…What will happen to my parents? I could care less about my dad, but my mom relies on me. Without me she won’t…”

I feel Mr. Honeynuts against me, reminding me my first time going to court. The courthouse people gave me Mr. Honeynuts when I was five. She had to go to court, but at the time I was too young to remember why she had to go. 

“… she won’t know what to.”

“Well, more than likely Ered’s parents will place your mom in a care facility. My guess would be rehab, but depending on what they find she could also serve jail time. Either way, she won’t be completely alone. More than likely you’ll have the ability to visit her, but don’t feel obligated to do so.”

I take a look down at Mr. Honeynuts, weighing my options. I know for a fact that David will not let me go back to my mom cause of what I said. So my options are either be thrown into the system and live with strangers, or go with David. As much as I hate to say it, it’s obvious which one I have to go with. 

“Okay. I would rather go with you than be with some other random weirdos. Just make your stupid phone calls and get the process started before I change my mind.”

My body is suddenly in the air and my head is mushed into David’s cheek. How the fuck does he stand up so fast!?

“OH MAX YOU WON’T CHANGE YOUR MIND I PROMISE!”

With one arm I push off him and wiggle out of his grasp. I take a few steps back towards my tent, but I turn my head to say my last piece. 

“I hope you know you just invited a demon into your home.”

David is kneeling down picking up his clipboard and guitar, and without looking up he responds.

“Then I must be one Hell of a counselor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make another chapter! Idk if I will continue to another chapter since currently the BLM movement is happening and I've been attending protests aka I might get hurt and won't be able to finish this haha,, but if people want more of this story then I will write it in my down time. Feel free to follow me on my tumblr @ kingeggie in the mean time!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you want more and if my writing style isn't too annoying lmao. If you do want me to continue, leave suggestions on what Max's second activity would be and if I should throw in ships in later chapters. ((ABSOLUTELY NO MAXVID SHIPPERS))


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